Page 78 of Cooper

“Fuck, I can’t hold them both off,” he yells.

“I’m going right,” Marcus says. He yanks the van to the right, and Cooper goes to the left, blocking them once again, but now the van is accelerating, pulling up right behind us and bumping the back of the SUV.

“Is there protocol for this?” he asks me. “Because I’m going to take one of them out.”

“If there’s imminent danger, and a blatant threat like them bumping us, you absolutely can.” I pull my gun out of my holster and twist in my seat, opening my window. I fire at the guy on the bike, and he swerves, dropping back again.

“This is going to be bad, Marcus!” Cooper yells. “They have an RPG. Can you turn into the woods?”

“There’s no turn-off!” he yells back.

I take off my seat belt and turn all the way in the seat, leaning out the window and using both hands to steady the gun. I watch the driver of the motorcycle on my side for a moment, getting a feel for his movements. Then I fire.

“Got him!” I’m gratified to see him clutch his chest and the motorcycle drive into a ditch.

“That’s my girl!” Cooper grins at me, but we have bigger problems.

There’s a guy hanging out of the van with the RPG, ready to fire.

“Who are they after?” I mutter. “Us or our prisoner?”

“Potentially both,” Cooper mutters, yanking the wheel again.

We’re all over the road, trying to avoid both the motorcycle and the van.

“I need to take out the other bike,” I say, crawling into the back seat.

“Be careful, Nat.”

“I’m good.” I open the window on the driver’s side and look out. The motorcycle is right there, but he drops back when he sees me.

Good.

I’m glad they’re intimidated.

I lift my gun but the SUV swerves, and I fall back into the seat.

“Cooper, if you can keep her steady for about five seconds, that’s all I need to take this guy out.”

“I’m trying, baby.”

I squint into the bright sunlight and focus.

Shooting is something I excel at. The only person who’s a better shot than me in the Royal Protectors is Sandor, and I’m determined to beat him someday. Today, however, all I care about is survival.

With Cooper keeping our vehicle steady, and the guy with the RPG setting up, I know I’ll only have one chance at this. Whatever this is, I’d rather us go up against one vehicle than three, and the road ahead is even rougher than the one we’re on, which will slow us down.

I wait for the right moment and then fire.

Bam.

The second motorcycle spins off the road but the van is on us again.

Shit.

“He’s going to fire,” I yell to Marcus. “Pivot!”

Marcus jerks the wheel of the van just as the RPG fires.

---